There is very little information on land tenure systems in Pakistan and their distribution. The frequent reference to the traditional revenue systems (zamindari, mahalwarj, ryotwari. etc.) is not very revealing either. While they are important for understanding the historical development of the current land tenure situation, they are not of much use in explaining the present tenure conditions. The Agricultural Census of Pakistan distinguishes three forms of tenure: owners‘  lawns, tenants‘ farm and owner-cum-tenants’ farms, but as there is a wide variation within  these three groups, census figures explain lo a very limited extent only, the current land tenure  situation. The census does not provide any information on patterns of ownership and actual managing units.  In view of this situation, an attempt is made here to classify the rural households in seven land tenure categories which are meaningful from the standpoint of rural development (Tribal tenure systems, including the sardari system, are not dealt with here}. The number of households  given for each category; is a rough estimate derived from the available census information and  is intended to give an order of magnitude only‘ In this chapter the situation at the beginning of  the 1960’s is outlined while the changes brought about by the green revolution and its  consequences are explained in the following chapter.